LOS ANGELES – It’s not considered a good sign when four of your five offensive linemen are wearing numbers in the 50s.

The UCLA offensive line was thought to be less than a 50-50 proposition going to USC on Saturday and then, on the Bruins’ second series, Caleb Benenoch got himself disqualified for punching the Trojans’ J.R. Tavai.

“That wasn’t much fun, right there,” said Noel Mazzone, the offensive coordinator.

It was supposed to spark a game-long party for Tavai, Leonard Williams, Dion Bailey and the merry quarterback-chasers for the Trojans, who would presumably drag Brett Hundley around the Coliseum and then hoist Ed Orgeron on their shoulders and carry him up to the peristyle.

Instead, Ben Wysocki (No. 55) replaced Benenoch, the rest of the hollowed-out offensive line gradually got its footing, and UCLA wore down USC, 35-14, for its first victory in the Coliseum since 1997.

UCLA won this game last year, 38-28, but that was more of a sprint-relay. This was heavy lifting.

The Bruins never turned over the ball and cashed six of nine third downs in the second half, and ran for five touchdowns behind an O-line that was supposed to be shag carpet. Cerrtainly it has enough patches.

UCLA has Jake Brendel (54) at center and Xavier Su’a-Filo (56) at left tackle. The rest of it has been like filling an inside straight. Simon Goines got hurt, Torian White got hurt. Alex Redmond (51) and Benenoch were already playing beside each other as first-year freshmen. Left guard Scott Quessenberry (52) is also a yearling.

“A couple of months ago they were trading Pokemon cards in high school,” said offensive line coach Adrian Klemm, at the time.

Wysocki was recruited from Los Alamitos (as was Redmond) by the previous regime. Mora’s younger recruits had passed him somewhat. Still, here he was.

“I’d gotten in against Stanford, so that was exciting, and this was, too,” Wysocki said.

“He came in and he was a little goofy, but then he’s always a little goofy,” Redmond said. “He’s a goober like all the rest of us. But he knows the scheme, he knows the footwork, the system. I thought he was huge.”

He had to be. In the first series, Hayes Pullard swooped in to dump Jordon James, and Devon Kennard sacked Hundley. Then came Benenoch’s misadventure, which turned out to be the first of only four penalties for a team that leads the FBS with an average of 8.5 per game.

But Mazzone told Hundley to make instant run-pass decisions, work the short routes (especially against USC’s Kevon Seymour) and get the young linemen caught up in the rhythm of the game. Along the way, USC’s scholarship shortage became oxygen debt.

“I don’t think they were accustomed to how fast we played,” Redmond said, “but we’ve seen that before. It discombobulates them. They get lost in what they’re supposed to do.”

“They couldn’t do all the stunts and pressures they normally do because they were so tired,” Brendel said.

Discerning USC fans realized their 21/2-month reverie was over when Hundley piloted an 85-yard drive in the third quarter.

Herding the Bruins to the line immediately, Hundley had five successive completions and appeared to find Devin Lucien for a 12-yard touchdown, but a replay nixed that.

Hundley shrugged and darted into the end zone on the next play. That’s nine plays and one negated play in 2:45, and it put the Trojans down 21-7. Then Hundley scored again for 28-14, after yet another fine kick return by Ishmael Adams.

All this, seven days after Arizona State slammed down the velvet rope on UCLA’s Pac-12 championship game chances.

“I sort of felt responsible for that,” Redmond said. “Will Sutton took advantage of me in that game. You can sulk for a night, maybe even two. But we came out Monday and said, look, we’re a good team, let’s go after it, and we did.”

And Redmond went after Williams, who had been Sasquatch for most of the season but had only two solo tackles here, and no sacks.

“He got me a couple of times when I lunged and tried to punch him too hard,” Redmond said. “Otherwise I think I locked him up OK.”

No player on this field grew up dreaming of playing in the bowls that await all of them in a few weeks. But UCLA did go 9-3 and USC 9-4.

Now the intrigue begins at USC, because Orgeron, even though he was 6-2 and made Trojan football recognizable again, still failed to beat Notre Dame and UCLA. That alone makes it hard to imagine Pat Haden giving him the permanent corner office, especially if Haden already had a guy in mind when he gave Lane Kiffin the ax at LAX.

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.